Song of Solomon 6

Christ takes delight in His redeemed and in the workings of His own grace in them, notwithstanding their weaknesses, and though He often has to hide His face temporarily, yet He gathers them back to His heart when they return to their duty, and He always prefers His own to the best of the unsaved of the world.

1 Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? whither is thy beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee.2 My beloved is gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, to feed in the gardens, and to gather lilies.3 I am my beloved's, and my beloved is mine: he feedeth among the lilies.4 ¶ Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely as Jerusalem, terrible as an army with banners.5 Turn away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.6 Thy teeth are as a flock of sheep which go up from the washing, whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them.7 As a piece of a pomegranate are thy temples within thy locks.8 There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, and virgins without number.9 My dove, my undefiled is but one; she is the only one of her mother, she is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters saw her, and blessed her; yea, the queens and the concubines, and they praised her.10 ¶ Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and terrible as an army with banners?11 I went down into the garden of nuts to see the fruits of the valley, and to see whether the vine flourished, and the pomegranates budded.12 Or ever I was aware, my soul made me like the chariots of Amminadib.13 Return, return, O Shulamite; return, return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it were the company of two armies.

Song of Solomon 6:3—I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine.

To get the full significance of this precious sentence we should compare it with Song of Solomon 2:16. Remark their parallelism, and their contrast.

“My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth among the lilies.”

And this--

“I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: He feedeth among the lilies.”

In the first of these couplets the Spouse lays the first emphasis on her hold of the Beloved; only secondarily does she congratulate herself that she is his. But in the second couplet her chief thought is that she belongs to Him. In the earlier stages of Christian life, we think most of what we have in Christ; afterwards we love to dwell on his possession of us. You are his estate, for Him to cultivate and rear successive crops for his praise and glory. You are his jewel, to obtain which He renounced all, and on which He will expend infinite care, cutting your facets, and polishing you to shine brightly in his light. You are his house in which He can dwell, opening out unexpected apartments and passages. You are a member of his body, through which He will fulfil his holy purpose. You are his bride, to win whom He came from afar. You are owned, possessed, inhabited, loved, with a peculiar personal affection. As Keble says: “Thou art thy Savior’s darling; doubt no more.”

“As the bridegroom to his chosen, As the king unto his realm, As the keep unto the castle, As the pilot to the helm, So, Lord, art Thou to me.” —Our Daily Homily